Never Too Late
by unknownbyhim22
Summary: ONE SHOT! Gabriella looked at the clock on the wall for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. She was irritated and annoyed as she picked her purse up and headed for the front door of the restaurant. Her boyfriend, Troy, was late again.


Gabriella looked at the clock on the wall for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. She was irritated and annoyed as she picked her purse up and headed for the front door of the restaurant. Her boyfriend, Troy, was late again. Just like he had been for the last couple of dates, special occasions, and important events. She pushed the door open and as she walked out she saw Troy coming inside, his hair messy and his chest pumping up and down with exhaustion. He stopped when he saw Gabriella and grabbed her arm to slow her down.

"Gabi, I'm sorry that I'm late. I was with Chad and…" He was interrupted as Gabriella put her hand up to stop him from speaking.

"Save it, Troy. I don't want to hear your excuses anymore. You're late _again_!" She said as she started to walk to her car.

"I'm sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?" He asked quickly.

"Nothing, Troy. I told you after college that if you wanted this relationship to work you would have to put as much effort in it as I am." She said. "And you're not. You're being lazy and you're late all the time. I can't handle this anymore, I'm done." She said as she jammed her key into the side of her car to open it.

"Gabriella, we can get through this. Please, I'm sorry." Troy pleaded as his eyes filled with hurt.

"Goodbye Troy." Gabriella said as she sat down in the driver's seat and pulled out of her parking spot.

Troy stood in shock as he watched the back lights of Gabriella's car fade into the darkness of the night. His girlfriend since high school was gone just as fast as the beating of his heart and he couldn't stop her, unless he did what he was planning to do for a really long time.

Gabriella was sadly placing everything Troy had ever given her in a cardboard box that was placed on her perfectly fixed bed. She couldn't help let the stray tears fall freely. Her heart was broken, but she knew it was because of her decision to stop her relationship with Troy, it wasn't Troy's fault, but at the same time it was. She was placing a sweater, that Troy always let her wear, in the box when she heard a knock on the door. She looked up, wiping her cheeks dry and saw Troy standing in the doorway with his own box of stuff. She saw a picture of them on the top of it that made her look away as a churning feeling took over her stomach. Troy placed the box on her dresser and walked back to his place in the doorway. Gabriella picked up the heavy box that she was packing and handed it to Troy, but he only shook his head, with pain clear in his eyes.

"You can keep it." He said as he swallowed hard.

"No, take it." Gabriella said.

Troy shook his head, but took it and looked down at the box filled with memories. Gabriella turned her back to him as she walked over to her dresser and tried to control herself.

"Gabriella." Troy said. "You didn't give everything back."

Gabriella furrowed her brow and walked over to him to peer into the box. She saw everything in there from CD's to necklaces.

"What did I forget?" She asked as she looked at Troy.

"My heart." Troy said as he looked into her eyes seriously.

Gabriella frowned and took a deep breath as her heart beat so hard that she thought for sure Troy could hear it.

"I'm sorry." Gabriella whispered.

Troy set the box down and slid his hand in his pocket. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, keeping his hand clenched and Gabriella looked at him as he grabbed her hand and she felt something cold and round fall into her palm. He closed her hand around it and walked out of her room with the box from her tucked under his arm. She slowly opened her hand and tears started to pour out of her eyes, her breathing becoming difficult as she saw an engagement ring, sparkling and perfect in her hand. She ran down the hallway and called after him, but as she stopped at the bottom of the stairs she saw the door closing, Troy already gone, leaving her completely alone.

Gabriella ran into her kitchen and grabbed the phone off of the receiver, she dialed the phone quickly, her hands shaking and her heart pounding.

"Chad!" She said quickly as she heard a familiar voice on the other line.

"Hey, Gabs! How are you?" He asked cheerfully.

"Ch-addd." She sobbed as she sank to the kitchen floor and put her hand in front of her to keep herself from dropping hard to the wood floor.

"Oh my god, Gabs. I'll be right over!" He said as he hung up the phone.

Within minutes Chad was crouching down to the floor in the kitchen and lifting Gabriella's weak body into his arms.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Gabriella opened her hand again and showed him the ring. He nodded and picked up the ring and examined it in his hand, nodding in understanding.

"That's why he was late for your date." He said.

"What?" Gabriella asked as she looked up at him.

"We were picking up your ring. He needed me to be there to make sure everything was perfect. That's why lately he has been late for things, because Jason, Zeke, and I have been helping him plan your proposal. We always got caught up in the moment and spent way to much time deciding on the little details." He explained.

"I ruined everything, Chad." Gabriella cried.

"No, Gabi, you didn't. You just didn't know." Chad answered her as he rocked her body back and forth.

Gabriella slid the ring on her finger and looked at it, then holding her hand close to her heart she stood up and wiped her eyes dry. Chad rubbed her arm supportively and hugged her tightly.

"I need to talk to him." Gabriella said as she nodded.

"Okay." Chad said with a nod.

Gabriella stood in front of Troy's house, scanning the familiar landscape in front of her. The air was cool and soft against her skin. The sun, orange and glowing. She made her way up to the front door and rang the doorbell a few times, becoming impatient as she could hear obvious movement in the house. After a few minutes she barged into the house, spotting Troy in the kitchen as she made her way down the hallway. She got teary eyed as she saw him and when he saw her he stopped putting away groceries and closed the pantry door. His sad shrug made her burst into tears and she ran toward him, wrapping her arms around him, feeling his soft, cotton shirt against her face, soaking up her tears. He ran his hand through her hair and put his hand on her neck to calm her down. She gasped for air and he brought her forward to look at her, wet face and mangled hair.

"I'm so sorry." She said as she shook her head.

"You didn't know." Troy said as he wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"I know that I love you, Troy, more than anything in the world. I'd do anything for you." Gabriella said quickly.

"Anything?" Troy whispered.

Gabriella nodded with confidence.

"Marry me?" Troy asked.

"Of course!" Gabriella said with a small laugh as she stood on her toes to boost herself up to kiss him.

Troy laughed and picked her up and spun her around as he kissed her.

"That ring looks great on you." Troy said with a chuckle.

"That's because it's from you." Gabriella said with a smile as she looked at her ring finger.

"I love you." Troy said as he pressed his forehead against hers.

"I love you more, you have no idea." Gabriella said.

"I have an idea." Troy said as he raised his eyebrow.

Gabriella smiled as he winked at her and she kissed him with more passion than ever. They were where they wanted to be, in each other's arms, on time, and for forever. As long as they told each other where they were at, they would never have to be worried about being late.


End file.
